Motor City Open Semi Final Report: Fourth Consecutive Final for Elias and Hesham Downs Dessouky

Defending champion Diego Elias reached his fourth consecutive Motor City Open final after beating Egypt’s Tarek Momen in a brilliant display.

The Peruvian World No.4, who is looking to make it a hattrick of Motor City Open titles, will face Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in the final tomorrow after the No.4 seed coasted past compatriot Fares Dessouky.

Elias, 28, had spoken before tonight’s clash with 2019 World Champion Momen about how well the court’s features suit his four-corners game, and from the first ball the No.2 seed looked in sharp form.

In a thrilling opener that saw both players throw everything at each other, it was Elias who edged into the lead courtesy of a 12-10 win.

The Peruvian put in an uneven performance in game two, opening up a 5-1 lead before being reeled in to 5-4, only to pull away again to go 2-0 up with an 11-6 victory.

Elias’ brilliant retrieval skills were tested early on in the third game by strong attacking play by Momen and, with the scores level at 5–5, both men had the chance to push on.

It was Elias, though, who was able to do so, with the Peruvian pressing home his advantage to end the match with an 11-7 win.

“I’m feeling great and feeling fast,” Elias said afterwards.

“I’m very pleased as I think I’m playing good squash at the moment. It’s always tough playing Tarek, he’s a former World Champion and I always struggle against him. I’m happy with my performance today and am looking forward to another final!

“[The crowd makes] a huge difference. I love this club, I love playing here. I’ve been coming here for the last eight years and I just feel at home here.”

“VAMOS!” 💪@diegoelias96 will have the opportunity to make it a hattrick of #MotorCityOpen titles tomorrow – here’s how he overcame Tarek Momen and what he had to say afterwards ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jXV1K0WNly

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) February 5, 2023

Standing in his way tomorrow is the formidable Hesham, who also scored a straight-games victory.

Hesham went into the match with a 4-0 losing record against Dessouky but quickly stormed into a 2-0 lead with a pair of 11-5 wins, with Dessouky’s movement appearing troubled.

‘The Falcon’, though, will have known to be wary in the third, with Dessouky showing his powers of recovery in coming from 2-0 down to dump top seed Paul Coll out of Detroit in yesterday’s quarter final.

Hesham made sure he left nothing to chance against the struggling No.5 seed, keeping up his relentless pace to bring the match to a swift conclusion with an 11-3 in the third game.

“To be honest, I could see in the beginning that Fares was not sure about his movement, but I had to keep my head down and try to keep going in the match because he can come back at any time,” Hesham said.

Here’s the moment @Thesquashfalcon sealed his place in the final and his post-match reaction ⬇️

Match report: https://t.co/hZlXDI2xwU#MotorCityOpen pic.twitter.com/0hMXQzuxAI

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) February 4, 2023

The Motor City Open final takes place tomorrow (February 5), with play beginning at 17:00 (GMT-5). All the action the Birmingham Athletic Club will be streamed live and free on the PSA website and for subscribers on SQUASH.TV

For more on the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Replays of tonight’s matches are available now on SQUASH.TV

Watch: Mazen Hesham v Fares Dessouky

Watch: Diego Elias v Tarek Momen

Results – Semi Final: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open 2023

[4] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [5] Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (26m)

[2] Diego Elias (PER) bt [3] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 (50m)

Draw – Final: To be played February 5

[4] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)